Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer Cassandra Wilson Dies at 70
Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer Cassandra Wilson Dies at 70
The News
Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer whose smoky contralto carried the sound of the Mississippi Delta into American jazz, died Tuesday morning at her home in Jackson, Mississippi. She was 70.
Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed the death. A statement from her manager to jazz radio station WBGO said Wilson "transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager."
No cause of death was given.
Timeline
Born and raised in Jackson to musician Herman B. Fowlkes and teacher Mary Fowlkes. She grew up on Motown, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, started piano at six, and played clarinet in marching bands.
Sang in coffeehouses and cover bands while studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University.
Studied under jazz greats in New Orleans, then moved to New York City and joined Steve Coleman's M-Base Collective, eventually becoming its lead vocalist.
Won her first Grammy, best jazz vocal album, for "New Moon Daughter."
Time magazine called her America's best singer.
Won a second Grammy for best jazz vocal album, for "Loverly." She was nominated four times in all.
Performed a special concert at the Apollo Theater marking the 100th birthday of Billie Holiday, and released her final album, "Coming Forth by Day," an homage to Holiday.
Named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the highest honors in American jazz.
Died at home in Jackson.
Reactions
Musician Jon Batiste, who toured with Wilson early in his career, wrote on Instagram that she "sounded like the South."
"She had an unmistakable vocal tone, phrasing and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me," Batiste said. "Her Mississippi heritage was always present in everything no matter how expansive her artistry evolved. She was one of the first people to take me on tour around the world, the great Cassandra Wilson."
Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city "has lost an extraordinary native daughter, and the world has lost a singular musical voice."
"Cassandra Wilson carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi with her wherever her music reached," Horhn said in a statement shared with WJTV. "Her work had rare depth of character and a profound understanding of how music moves people, tells stories and connects generations."
What's Next
Funeral and memorial arrangements have not been announced.
More
Wilson built a career refusing the boundaries of the genre she was filed under. Her voice worked across folk, pop, R&B and country as easily as blues-based jazz, and critics credited her with widening what a jazz vocalist was allowed to sound like. What never changed was where it came from — a Jackson childhood she never sanded off her records.
Sources: The Guardian, Billboard (Associated Press), Los Angeles Times, Variety, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Independent, San Francisco Chronicle.
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